Gift of Mobility! ARISE’s ramp-building program gives new freedom to disabled

John Berry/The Post-StandardEric Conley of Constantia, left, and Jim Karasek of Ganby, the manager for independent living for the Oswego County division of ARISE were poised to assist volunteers that were to install a wheelchair ramp at the Parish residence of RoseMary Race on Saturday morning, but a shortage of volunteers caused the construction to be delayed until another day

The Oswego ARISE Ramp Project, which provides ramps for people in wheelchairs who might not otherwise be able to afford one, has grown in scope and in need this year.

The ramp program has been in existence for about four years, said Sabine Ingerson, director of ARISE’s Oswego office. The not-profit organization advocates for people with disabilities. About four years ago, it teamed up with the First United Methodist Church in Oswego, which provides volunteers to assemble and install the ramps at people’s homes.

“We’re doing about one ramp per week now,” said Jim Karasek, manager of Independent Living Services for ARISE in Oswego.

The ramps are a functional item that can mean freedom for those homebound by mobility issues, Karasek said. “We’ve had people literally trapped in their homes” because they couldn’t navigate their wheelchairs out of the house without multiple people there to help, said Karasek. “We’ve had people stuck in rehab — ready to come home — and couldn’t come home until a ramp is built.”

When volunteers put the ramps together, they begin by meeting ahead of time and constructing modules, or big sections, of the ramps. Done this way, the sections are easier to move than if the materials had to be transported in smaller pieces.

Preference is given to those who are ready to be discharged from nursing homes, but need the ramp for access to and safety in their home. “It’s just a great feeling when you talk to that person ahead of time,” Karasek said. “And when they see the ramp completed — they just light up.”

Ramps are typically associated with people who use wheelchairs, but they can also be a necessity for others with other physical challenges.

Ingerson recalls one ramp recipient who had been using a telephone book to make the increments on her steps easier to navigate with her walker.

Currently, there are 19 people awaiting ramps in Oswego County.

“It changes people’s lives,” he said. “It puts them back into the community.” He said without being mobile, they can’t shop, visit friends and relatives, and have a tough time getting to medical appointments. The community suffers as well, not having valuable members contributing, he said.

While volunteers provide the labor for building the ramps, the structures cost about $1,000 each in materials alone, Ingerson said. A contractor’s fees to engineer and install the ramps would run an additional $3,000 to $5,000 — highlighting the importance of volunteers to the program, she said.

Funds to build the ramp are raised through donations and some grants, Ingerson said. Retired engineer Glen Suckling, of Oswego, volunteers to make sure each ramp fits to specifications. He works at the home site where it is being installed, Ingerson said. She said the ramp program’s growth has created a need for an additional engineer.

Traditionally, the First United Methodist Church in Oswego provided muscle and volunteers to build the ramps, which were constructed in the church basement area. Most recently, Fulton’s First United Methodist Church joined the effort to build and install the ramps.

Karasek showed up early one Saturday morning in September to find the new volunteer group already at work.

“They were bustling right along,” he said.

To find out more about the ramp project, how to donate or volunteer, contact Jim Karasek at ARISE at 342-4088, ext. 206.